Army Staff Sgt. Vinson B. Adkinson III
Death: Aug 31, 2010
of Harper Kan.; assigned to the 173rd Brigade Support Battalion 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team Bamberg Germany; Died Aug. 31 in Logar province Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Sgt. Raymond C. Alcaraz Pfc. Matthew E. George and Pfc. James A. Page. Grandmother: He wanted to go back to Afghanistan to bring peace to people The Associated Press DUNCAN Okla. — An Oklahoma soldier who Died while serving in Afghanistan was buried Sept. 13 after a funeral service in Duncan. The Duncan Banner reported that the private service for Staff Sgt. Vinson B. Adkinson III26 at Ray of Hope Church south of Duncan was only open to family and friends. Outside the church supporters — including members of the Patriot Guard Riders on their motorcycles — roamed the grounds and others lined nearby roads with red white and blue signs. Adkinson’s father Vinson Adkinson Jr. and the soldier’s sister Mary Kay each rang a traveling replica of the Liberty Bell in the soldier’s honor. Adkinson an Army Ranger with the Bamburg Germany-based 173rd Brigade Support Battalion and three other soldiers Died when an improvised explosive device blew up near their unit Aug. 31. The Army said he enlisted in 2003 and was assigned as a heavy vehicle operator. He grew up in the tiny community of Empire City Stephens County but moved to Kansas where he graduated from high school. The Army listed his hometown as Harper Kan. He was buried at Fort Sill National Cemetery. Adkinson had served three tours of duty in Iraq and was in his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. On Sept. 11 his father said Adkinson was born to be in the military. Adkinson’s grandmother Mary Adkinson said she didn’t want him to serve another tour of duty in Afghanistan. “I begged him not to go back” she said after seeing her grandson earlier this year. She said he told her he needed to return to Afghanistan so that the people of that nation could have peace in their lives. After the funeral a military escort brought Adkinson’s flag-draped casket out of the church and placed it in a white hearse. As the hearse’s rear door closed red white and blue balloons were released. Operation Enduring Freedom